Communications, information services, entertainment, and other applications and functions that were once provided by separate electronic devices are now commonly provided by “smart” phones and other advanced portable electronic devices such as electronic tablets, portable gaming systems and electronic book readers having bright, colorful, high-resolution displays. As a result, people are spending more and more time interacting with portable electronic devices for viewing maps, watching movies, conducting Internet searches, receiving news, sending and receiving email and text messages, playing games, and other visually intensive and time consuming activities. The small size of such devices makes them easy to carry and easy to use in confined conditions. However, because of the small size of the displays used in many portable electronic devices, the best viewing may occur when a portable electronic device is held steady, without shaking, swaying, or other distracting motions.
A person may find it tiresome to hold a portable electronic device steady at a preferred viewing angle and viewing distance for an extended period of time. It can be difficult to perform other tasks while one's hands are occupied with holding a portable electronic device. Many different kinds of mounting devices such as stands, holders, clamps, and rests have been proposed for freeing one's hands and steadying a small display for easier viewing. Some mounting devices are adequate for resting a portable electronic device on a stationary table, desk, or other flat surface, but may tip over or fall off a support surface in a moving vehicle. Other mounting devices depend on suction cups or magnets for attaching the mounting device to a support structure, but suction cups are ineffective on porous or textured surfaces and magnetic attachments are ineffective on nonferrous support structures. Yet other mounting devices use hooks or clips to attach to a support structure such as a seat back, a table edge, and other locations with an edge or projection suitable for attaching a hook or clip. However, a hook or clip having a size and shape suited for attachment to one type of support structure may be unable to attach to other types of support structures.
A mounting device may include a retractable tether wrapped around a spring-loaded reel. The tether unwinds from the reel as the tether is withdrawn from the mounting device and is rewound on the reel when tension on the tether is reduced. The tether may be provided with a hook or clip at the free end. The hook or clip may be attached to an external structure to suspend the mounting device. Or, the tether may be wrapped around an external structure and the hook or clip attached to an anchor point on the mounting device to suspend the mounting device from a loop formed in the tether.
Mounting devices with retractable tethers may perform poorly for several reasons. The tether may bind and fail to retract properly. The tether may unwind from the reel when a portable electronic device heavy enough to overcome the spring in the tether reel is attached to the mounting device. If the hook at the end of the tether slips from its anchor point, the hook and tether may lash out unexpectedly during retraction and strike a nearby object or person. If a tether reel spring is strong enough to retract its tether until the mounting device is held tightly against a support structure, the tether hook or clip may be difficult to disengage from its anchor. A mounting device attached to an external structure by a tether alone may rock or sway during use of the portable electronic device or as a result of vehicle motion, even when the tether is pulled tight by spring tension in the tether reel.
Some mounting devices don't provide firm enough support for an electronic device and may unexpectedly release the electronic device, or the mounting device itself may separate from a support structure when subjected to vibration, acceleration, normal operation of a keypad or touch screen, or accidentally bumping the mounting device or portable electronic device, as may occur in a moving vehicle. Some mounting devices are bulky and difficult to carry or store when not in use. Other mounting devices project a substantial distance from the surface of the structure to which they are attached and may interfere with the movements of other people in the vicinity, for example by impeding aisle access for a person seated near a mounting device attached to a seatback on a train, bus, or airplane.